Focus on middle order as India seek to regain lead

Mumbai: India will look to find the 'perfect' balance in their playing eleven when they take on a resurgent West Indies in the fourth One-day International here on Monday.

Going with five specialist bowlers in Pune on Saturday did not work for India, who ended up as the losing side for the first time in the home series against the West Indies.

With the series surprisingly tied at 1-1 and two matches to go, Virat Kohli's team finds itself in a must-win situation at the Cricket Club of India (CCI).

Credit must be given to the West Indies, who have not only moved on from a dismal Test series but have given the formidable hosts a run for their money in the one-day format.

As Kohli pointed out after the 43-run loss in the third ODI, the return of Kedar Jadhav from injury will give the team a much-needed depth in both the batting and bowling department.

An unstable middle-order and lack of runs from MS Dhoni's bat are another issues facing India, not just for Monday's fixture but also in the long run with 15 games remaining before the World Cup in England next year.

For the West Indies, their biggest asset has been wicket-keeper Shai Hope, who has played two key innings, a 123 in Visakhapatnam followed by a crucial 95 in Pune.

He would be hoping for another big knock tomorrow and so will Shimron Hetmyer, who failed to convert his start in the third game. The 21-year-old southpaw, who had scores of 106 and 94 before the Pune game, would be the one watch out for again.

Apart from these two star players, Windies would be hoping that the likes of Kieron Powell, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Rovman Powell fire in the crucial contest.

The bowlers would have taken confidence from bundling out India in Pune. Pacer Obed McCoy and off-spinner Ashley Nurse will be high on confidence as the West Indies aim to take the series lead.

Pitch and conditions
They don’t play a lot of international cricket at Brabourne Stadium any more – the last ODI was way back in 2006, the final of the ICC Champions Trophy, when Australia beat the Windies. The weather should be just right.

Stats and trivia

If Kohli will scores another century on Monday match, it will be only second player after Kumar Sangakkara scores four century in four matches.

West Indies' victory in Pune was only their fifth against India in India since January 2007.

Kuldeep Yadav is India's highest wicket-taker in ODis in 2018. He has 41 from 17 matches, at an average of 18. Nine more strikes and he'll topple Rashid Khan off No. 1